Religious Conflict In Beowulf

As the poet says, “...So fame Comes to the men who mean to win it And care about nothing else!” This represents a common pagan belief that fame and good things come to those who fight and win. This is also a common theme found all throughout Beowulf. In the poem, Beowulf fights monsters with violence to earn his honor and glory, which is against Christian morals and beliefs. Anglo-Saxon culture was evident as readers see that Beowulf, and everyone else during this time period, believed that everything was earned from how much glory someone could gain for themselves. This is pretty much the opposite in a Christian society as christians believe that all glory should be given to God. The idea of an afterlife is not really discussed in Beowulf since it is mainly based on worldly things. There is so much belief in the idea that someone’s worth comes from the material items that an afterlife is senseless. The author says, “And the most beautiful necklace known to men: Nowhere… on Earth is there anything like it.” (Beowulf 1195-1197). This is talking about the gifts that Beowulf was given and how these gifts were viewed as more important than anything else. Materialistic things were viewed as marvelous out of this world things as opposed to putting Christ in that place. Christians believe that materialistic things do not matter because the only thing that matters is Christ. In Christian beliefs, you cannot believe in the value of materialistic things and believe that

The story of Beowulf deals with life, death, violence, kings, and monsters. Written around 800 CE, and then picked up hundreds of years later to be rewritten by a monk, it is written well after the coming of Christ. It could be simply read as an action adventure, filled with conquests and elaborate feasts, as were common of Old English tales. The story is not that simple though, and gives us a peek into a culture going through some drastic changes. Once built upon a Pagan belief system void of Christ and saturated with values such as revenge and violence, the Anglo-Saxons did not immediately adopt all of Christianity. There was a lengthy time in which both sets of beliefs were muddled and weaved together haphazardly, where no one religion was distinct. Beowulf is an example of these cultural influences crashing together. While Christianity in Beowulf, the Old English epic poem, looks different than the Christianity we recognize today, the story is built with Christian values.

In the Anglo-Saxon epic poem Beowulf, the stupendous hero’s many great deeds often appear to be for other’s benefit, yet Beowulf’s final conquest exposes his lust for glory and fame, thereby showing his lack of concern for anything else. This lust for immense glory and fame feeds his ego and causes his death and the imminent downfall of his great people the Geats.

Beowulf is an epic poem that, above all, gives the reader an idea of a time long past; a time when the most important values were courage and integrity. The only factors that could bestow shower fame upon a person were heroic deeds and family lineage. Beowulf, as the paradigm of pagan heroes, exhibited his desire to amass fame and fortune; the only way to do so was to avenge the death of others. This theme of retribution that is ever present throughout the poem seems to color the identities of its characters.

Many Christian elements and values create the disposition of Beowulf. The author of Beowulf creates a character who seen as a Christ- like figure in that he possesses the Christian value of self-sacrifice and assists in the fight against evil. Beowulf is willing to die and defend his people, in this case

   In Beowulf the Christian element, which coexists alongside the pagan or heathen, sometimes in a seemingly contradictory fashion, is many faceted.

Throughout the ancient society of Anglo-Saxons, the pagan beliefs commonly caused people to do things for their own personal gain of fame. On the other hand, Christianity, which had just started to emerge in this society taught values of selflessness and respecting God. Although the story Beowulf was written down by Christian monks, pagan beliefs are prevalent throughout the epic. Beowulf is a character who acts on many values promised by paganism that make up the who he is.

For example, after the defeat of Grendel’s mother Beowulf is reminded by Hrothgar that his pride will lead only to his undoing but it can also be said that his pride and search for glory has undoubtedly left the land in better shape than without his heroic feats. It can also be said that Beowulf is a representation of a change in times from traditional Scandinavian values such as doing great feats to achieve more glory or to die in battle for a glorious death to a more Christian set of values such as being a humble servant to the people or to God. Beowulf’s character starts off the story as being boastful and prideful but as the story progresses it can be seen that Beowulf evolves into a humbler

Throughout the story of Beowulf, the concept of religion plays a significant role. The Christianity ideology views state that man can survive and do great things through the protection of God. A strong desire of pride is also represented in the form of a hero in Beowulf, which in a sense goes against Christian morals. This clash with Christian morals in Beowulf was in the context of pride vs. humility and selfishness vs. sacrifice. In the book, Hrothgar first explained to Beowulf that pride without humility will only kill him. Beowulf struggles to find his roots as a follower of God, as well as maintaining his views and actions of Paganism.

Many of the texts written throughout the Middle Ages had one similar theme: Religion. Many of the texts read in the Middle Ages segment of British Literature, have all had at least one element of religion. Stories have ranged from Beowulf to The Canterbury Tales. Sources directly from the text read and from scholarly journals, both have evidence that religion was a huge aspect in readings and life during the Middle Ages time period.

Christianity arrived in Northern Europe over one thousand years ago. This is evidenced by some of the earliest pieces of literature that we have. The epic poem, “Beowulf”, shows many references to the influence of Christianity on English culture. There are many parallels between characters in “Beowulf” and characters from the Bible. Many Christian themes and virtues are also portrayed in “Beowulf”. Throughout “Beowulf”, the theme of Christianity manifests itself through Christ-like images of Beowulf as well as his strength in God allowing him to ward off monsters of paganism.

describes Beowulf's actions as a gift of God and his mercy on him and his land: "First

In the story Beowulf, there are a few different religions that are represented by the author. All the religions are portrayed in the story through the author’s eyes and his beliefs. The author makes clear what religion he believes in and his views. Some instances in the story also relate to the conflict between Christianity and the code of warriors. Throughout the story, the author is faced with the challenge of trying to portray his beliefs with a character whose actions are in conflict with his beliefs. Beowulf, in this story is based on the total opposite of the author’s beliefs and there are instances when his behavior is shown, and after there is symbolism of Christianity, to show its conflict with his behavior.

The first half of this dual ordeal is the internal conflict of human nature to be overcome by pride and greed. The characteristic of pride and its contradiction to Christian values gives a first look at the dichotomies of pride vs. humility and sacrifice vs. greed. In Herot, King Hrothgar reminds Beowulf that pride, untempered by humility, will result in the tragic fall. He also shares with Beowulf a second element of Christian philosophy; “wealth, accumulated through the grace of God, must be shared unselfishly.” The characteristic of greed is contradictory in Beowulf. At first, Beowulf is made out to be a selfless warrior; he fights Grendel and Grendel's mother to ensure safety for his people, even if it means he will die. However, once the greed of Beowulf mixes with his pride, he loses that trait of selflessness. Beowulf lets his pride consume him, and begins to brag about what he has accomplished. Beowulf says “Grendel is no braver nor stronger than I am! I could kill him with my sword; I shall not...” (Beowulf 376) Beowulf starts to call himself the best soldier in the world, and that he is the only one that could kill Grendel. At this point, Beowulf is no longer fighting for the protection of his people, but rather for his own personal glory.

“The Seafarer”, an elegy from the Exeter Book Elegies, discusses the idea that the Anglo-Saxon way of life is fleeting, and the only way to overcome this is living a life free of sin. The Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf continuously digresses into stories whose purpose is to teach the main character how to behave in order to become a heroic figure. In the excerpt from first work mentioned, the speaker believes that soon the “pomp” and “lordly fame” associated with the warrior culture of the Anglo-Saxon world will be a thing of the past (82, 85). Conversely, in the Beowulf excerpt, which tells the story of the bad King Heremod, the attitude of the speaker is that warrior culture is a central part of life. The speaker of “The Seafarer” excerpt explains the benefits of being a man who is “humble” and “strong minded” (108, 109). On a similar note, the speaker of the Beowulf excerpt condemns those who are selfish “he gives no golden rings” and “angry” (1749). Both the poem and the epic discuss the ideal way that a man should conduct himself. The importance of these lessons in “The Seafarer” is to live an everlasting life in heaven while in Beowulf the reason is to gain glory on earth and be remembered.